The Morgantown Black Bears typically get all of the college drafted players from the top half of the draft, along with some of the young pitchers in their first and second full seasons. The Pirates tend to skip their best prep hitters over the short-season leagues, sending them to West Virginia instead. This happened last year with Cole Tucker, and this year with Ke’Bryan Hayes. They also skipped their younger pitchers over to West Virginia, with Mitch Keller and Gage Hinsz making that jump after going to Bristol last year. And with the 2016 draft focused so much on prep pitchers, there seemed to be very little chance for the Black Bears to have a lot of talent.
Fortunately, the Pirates took a college hitter with their first round pick, and again with their third round pick. They also took a few college arms in the top ten rounds, and several more after the tenth round. And they had one top young pitcher still remaining in Luis Escobar. This combination created a decent mix of prospects that wasn’t as top heavy as some of the other levels, but had some good depth, with actual prospects throughout the top ten spots. Here are our top ten prospects from Morgantown, with our live reports on them.
TOP 10 MORGANTOWN BLACK BEARS PROSPECTS
The cutoff for eligibility on this list was 70 at-bats, 20 innings pitched, or 10 relief appearances. There weren’t any notable players who missed the cut. Most of the list is based on upside, rather than the results this year. The upside can be a bit easier to predict than the GCL and Bristol ratings, but it’s still a difficult projection.
1. Will Craig, 3B – The Pirates drafted Craig in the first round as a third baseman. Craig is a big player for third base, and while he has a plus arm due to his previous experience as a pitcher who can throw 94 MPH, his first step quickness is a question mark. He projects to end up at first base in the long-term, but the Pirates will keep him at third base as long as possible, and he could reach the majors playing the position if he keeps his conditioning in check. He had some throwing issues this year, but that could have been due to a sore shoulder. The Pirates rested him during instructs by moving him to first base, which had the added bonus of getting him some early work if he has to make the switch down the line. He has played first base in the past, so that shouldn’t be a difficult transition. Offensively, there’s a lot to like, as Craig makes hard contact and shows great patience at the plate. He struggled for about a month, then really picked up his production in the final six weeks of the Morgantown season. He could break out with the bat in 2017, similar to what Kevin Newman did this year after a slow start in his pro debut. Craig can hit for average and get on base, while having more power than Newman. The big question mark and the big thing to work on will be his defense at third.
2. Luis Escobar, RHP – Escobar has emerged as one of the most promising pitching prospects in the lower levels of the Pirates’ system. He took a step forward with his stuff this year, routinely hitting 97 MPH, and sitting mid-90s. He also worked to improve his changeup, and his curveball led to 61 strikeouts in 67.2 innings. He did have some control issues at times this year, with 28 walks, and a few outings where he struggled and was hit around. He’s not quite polished yet, but he’s also only 20 years old. He’ll make the jump to West Virginia next year, where the big focus should be on fixing his control. He’s got a lot of upside as a starter who can throw hard and who has strikeout potential. He falls behind Mitch Keller, and is closer to Gage Hinsz as far as prospect status goes, but could really shoot up the ranks if he makes similar improvements to his command like those two made this year.
3. Stephen Alemais, SS – Alemais impressed immediately in his pro debut for his defense, and was named one of the best defensive players from the draft this year by Baseball America. His offense struggled, with a combined .592 OPS between Morgantown and West Virginia. He made some adjustments to his swing in the off-season, focusing on being more upright, and adding a load for more power. He’s not a guy who will hit for power, or attempt to hit for power, but he did manage three home runs at the start of instructs, after hitting just three in three years of college. All he needs to do to be a successful starting shortstop with his defense is to hit for average with some gap power. He should get the aggressive push to Bradenton next year, and if his offense shows the same improvements he saw during instructs, it could lead to him being on a faster track to the majors.
4. Cam Vieaux, LHP – Vieaux had a solid debut in Morgantown, with a 3.33 ERA in 67.2 innings, along with a 52:21 K/BB ratio. He looked like the most polished pitcher on the staff, and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him get an aggressive push to Bradenton in 2017, just like fellow lefty Brandon Waddell received this year. He doesn’t have the best stuff, and is more of a finesse guy, pitching off the fastball with good location and setting up the slider. He also throws a two-seamer as a situational pitch, and a changeup. The Pirates are hoping to get more velocity out of Vieaux, which should be easy due to his simple delivery and clean mechanics. He started to see an increase toward the end of the year up to the low-90s, and has been 90-93 in the past. He looks like a great candidate for an aggressive push to Bradenton, and if he adds some velocity, it would only help him improve his chances of reaching the majors one day as a back of the rotation starter or a strong bullpen option.
5. James Marvel, RHP – The Pirates went over-slot on Marvel in the 36th round of the 2015 draft, getting him in the system for the remainder of his Tommy John surgery. He returned this year and made his pro debut, and it went about as expected for a pitcher returning from Tommy John. He showed his potential at times, with the ability to generate a lot of ground balls with a two-seamer that has a lot of movement. He also has a curveball that features good break, and can throw a changeup. There were other times when he lost command of some or all of these pitches, and had bad outings. The lack of command from start to start has been a common trend for guys returning from Tommy John. Marvel has a big frame, a sinker that is very effective, and a good ability to mix up his pitches. It’s hard to fully evaluate him, since his only experience is during his return year from surgery, but you can see some reasons why the Pirates went after him so aggressively.
6. Dylan Prohoroff, RHP – Prohoroff’s big appeal is that he’s a relief pitching prospect who has gotten his fastball up to 92-94 MPH, touching 96, with great downward movement on the pitch. The downside here is that he has been an extreme “head whacker”, meaning he whips his head down to his left armpit when delivering the pitch, sometimes to the point where it doesn’t seem like he’s looking at the plate when throwing. This can lead to some control issues, which has been his biggest flaw. He’s got a slider that is a strikeout pitch, and the fastball/slider combo could make him a late inning option if he fixes his control. The Pirates appeared to be working with him on this during instructs, trying to control the delivery. His velocity throughout the year was down, ending up in the 88-90 MPH range during instructs, but there could be a few reasons for this, such as working on mechanics, or pitching later in the season than he ever did before. He’ll be an interesting relief prospect to watch going forward.
7. Sandy Santos, OF – Santos is a very toolsy player, but is also very raw. He posted a .281/.336/.412 line with some good power numbers for the league, and a decent walk rate. However, he’s more of a free swinger at times, which didn’t get fully exposed at this level, but will if he continues at a higher level. There are a lot of peaks and valleys to his offense, due to his all-out play and big cuts at the plate. He does have some power potential, and is athletic enough that he can be valuable defensively at a corner outfield spot. He will be 23 next April, so he’s approaching the point where his raw tools need to start developing, and where he needs to be a bit more controlled on the field to get more consistent results.
8. Danny Beddes, RHP – Beddes had some good velocity reports at the time of the draft, with the ability to throw 90-94 and touch 95. When I saw him, he was sitting 89-91 and touching 93, which could be due to pitching late in the season. His changeup is fairly new, but he does throw a cutter and a curveball, with the cutter being his best breaking pitch. If the changeup develops, and if he can command his two-seamer, which he had problems with at times, then he could emerge as a starting pitching prospect. There are a few things to like about Beddes right now, specifically his large frame and his velocity potential, and if he improves his command and his changeup, he could emerge as a starting pitching prospect.
9. Stephan Meyer, RHP – Meyer was a non-prospect entering the year, getting some interesting numbers in the low levels after an injury shortened debut in 2015, but entering 2016 with ineffective stuff. That showed up early in the year, when he put up a 7.89 ERA in his first 29.2 innings, along with a 19:10 K/BB ratio. Around mid-July, he switched to a two-seam fastball, and that small change made a huge difference for him. He finished the year with a 2.58 ERA in his final 52.1 innings, with a 31:12 K/BB ratio. Not only did his control improve, but his ground ball rate went from 42.3% to 51.4%. He doesn’t have the best fastball velocity, but the two-seamer gives him movement, and has been more effective than his four-seamer, which was up in the zone. He has a tall, projectable frame, so there is some hope that he could add velocity. But he’s now 22 years old, turning 23 next May, so he’s more likely to have success focusing on movement and location with his new approach. He’s more of a fringe prospect now, and an interesting guy to follow in the lower levels, but that’s a lot more than could be said about him a year ago.
10. Kevin Krause, C/RF – Krause missed the 2015 season with the rare Tommy John surgery for position players. Prior to that, he showed a lot of power potential in short-season ball, hitting seven homers and for a .284 ISO in his first run through the NYPL. He returned to the level this year, and while his OBP was up, his power was down. He did show flashes that his power potential was still there, but faded down the stretch. He can catch, although he isn’t the strongest catcher, and profiles best defensively in right field. Very few players in the lower levels have his power potential, which makes him an interesting guy to watch going forward.
Other Notable Players: Matt Anderson was taken in the tenth round as a college senior. He sits 88-92 MPH with good downward movement on his fastball. His numbers were poor, possibly due to a blister problem he had throughout the year. This was due to his slider, which the Pirates took away due to the issue. He throws a curveball and a changeup, which alters his approach to the game. Clark Eagan was taken in the ninth round, and showed some tools and good hitting ability at times, but saw his season cut short with an injury in early August. Hunter Owen (25th round) got a lot of playing time and showed some power potential. He spent some time at third base, and one game at second. He’s got more value as an infielder than a corner outfielder, since his power isn’t going to be enough to provide value in the outfield.
